The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity

Episodes

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  Episode 127: Creative Flow and Focus - Advice from a Hollywood Studio Pro with Sukha Founder Steven Puri 01.10.2026 55m

  Following a successful career as a Hollywood visual effects designer and studio executive, Steven Puri pivoted to start The Sukha Company, a flow state platform that helps creative professionals work more effectively, more productively, and with more joy. As a studio executive at Dreamworks and 20th Century Fox, and producer on films from Die Hard 5 to The Wolverine, he learned how to inspire a broad range of teams. Our conversation includes insights from Steven’s experiences working with cre...
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  Episode 127: The Power of Silence with Olga Lehmann, PhD 17.09.2026 48m

  In a world of constant overstimulation, noise, and speed, what is the value of silence and stillness? In this episode, we explore how silence can become a refuge and a source of well-being. We also contemplate the power dynamics of silence, such as when we experience self-silencing or having silence imposed upon us. We also discuss the benefits of poetry and therapeutic writing for working with grief. Olga Lehmann, PhD, fondly nicknamed “The Silentist,” by colleagues, is a professor of ...
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  Episode 126: Creative Spark Series - Compost & Cosmos with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 03.09.2026 13m

  In this installment of our Creative Spark series, Charlotte shares several anecdotes, including the story of a man she met while picking up a load of compost, who told her all about his pet pig, Cosmos. With her superpowers of listening and asking questions, Charlotte has a knack for drawing out people’s stories, which is always a source of creative inspiration. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating ...
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  Episode 125: Figuring it Out with Film Producer & Creative Entrepreneur Marco De Molina 20.08.2026 54m

  Marco De Molina is Grammy Nominated film producer who has received international acclaim throughout his career at prestigious film festivals worldwide including the Festival de Cannes. He has been recognized for his striking visuals, unique storytelling, a keen eye for developing new talent, and his ability to maximize production value. Marco has produced countless music videos for chart-topping musicians in all genres from metal to pop. He has received numerous nominations and wins at the MT...
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  Episode 124: Creative Spark Series - Finding Your Story with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 06.08.2026 14m

  Storytelling is a huge part of the creative process, and we all carry many stories within us. In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, we explore how to find the stories in our own life experiences, and how to begin working with them. We also explore the healing power of telling our stories, and how our personal (and sometimes painful) experiences can speak to larger, more universal themes. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncr...
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  Episode 123: The Surface Area of Serendipity with Tech Entrepreneur Charles Cadbury 23.07.2026 41m

  What if you began each day outside, in nature, without technology, viewed your daily activities and connections as ways to increase the surface area of your serendipity, and spent Thursday evenings appreciating the sunset with friends? Welcome to Charles Cadbury’s world. A multi-award-winning technologist focusing on human-computer interaction and AI assistance, Charles is a creative entrepreneur who values the alchemy of connection. In this episode, we discuss the power of community and coll...
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  Episode 122: Creative Spark Series - Sharing Your Creative Self with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 09.07.2026 10m

  In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte explore both the fears and the benefits of sharing our creative selves with family, friends, and the wider world. Many creatives feel misunderstood by those closest to us, such as family members who may not “get” or value our work, so we feel hesitant or resistant to share our creative ideas and expressions with them. However, we believe there’s a positive risk in sharing and allowing ourselves to be known in this way, beca...
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  Episode 121: Emotions and Choice in the Creative Process with Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, PhD 25.06.2026 49m

  What either allows or prevents us from taking action on our creative ideas and bringing them into being? According to our guest Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, PhD, emotions and choice play a major role, including our fears about being judged, as well as both our sense of creative anxiety and identity. How we manage these emotions ultimately guides our creative freedom and efficacy. For our Creativity Pro-Tip, if you have more ideas than you can pursue at any given moment, we encourage you to p...
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  Episode 120: Creative Spark Series - Putting Yourself Out There with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 11.06.2026 15m

  In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte discuss both the fears and rewards of putting your creative work out into the world, sharing examples from their own experiences with music, film, and writing. While sharing your creations can feel uncertain, vulnerable and risky, you’ll never know the potential benefits unless you try. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative ...
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  Episode 119: Jazz Lessons from Musical Mathematician Lawrence Udeigwe 28.05.2026 36m

  If music is a language of emotions, mathematics is a language of the nature of reality. In this episode, jazz musician and mathematician Lawrence Udeigwe reveals how these two languages inform each other, and the lessons they hold for everyday life. We discuss his new album, Four Lemmas, and how he bridges the worlds of music and math in his creative, academic, and teaching work. Dr. Udeigwe is a Professor of Mathematics at Manhattan University and a Research Affiliate in Brain and Cognitive ...
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  Episode 118: Creative Spark Series - The Power of Imagination with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 14.05.2026 15m

  In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte explore the power of imagination, both as a driver of innovation and a pathway to liberation. If we want to play a role in shaping the future, we must use our imagination to envision possibilities, rather than simply letting politicians and tech leaders, who likely do not have our interests at heart, do it for us. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide...
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  Episode 117: Creativity, Anxiety & Authenticity with Amanda Beck, PhD 30.04.2026 43m

  This episode explores the connections between anxiety, authenticity, and creativity, including the hidden gifts and messages of anxiety and their implications for personal development. Amanda Beck is an actress, writer, and doctor of humanistic psychology whose work lives at the intersection of creativity, anxiety, and the authentic self. She holds a PhD from Saybrook University with a specialization in Creativity Studies, where her dissertation explored the deep connections between anxiety, ...
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  Episode 116: Creative Spark Series - Creativity, Power & Agency with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 16.04.2026 15m

  In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Melinda & Charlotte explore questions of power and agency, and how they connect with creativity and creative empowerment. We explore power dynamics, focusing on power with (collaboration), power to (personal empowerment), and power within (personal agency and efficacy). These ways of understanding our personal power (as opposed to the traditional hierarchical model of power over, or domination), can help us take positive, creative action to be...
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  Episode 115: The Power of Play - Creativity, Play, and Embodiment with Dr. Tamara Russell 02.04.2026 46m

  Dr. Tamara Russell is a clinical psychologist, neuroscientist, martial artist and mindfulness trainer. She works as an academic and clinician, exploring the use of embodied mindfulness in the work of transformation and self-development. Tamara is involved in international collaborations looking at how mindfulness training changes the structure and function of the brain. She is the Director of the Mindfulness Centre of Excellence, London, an organization dedicated to the wider dissemination of...
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  Episode 114: Creative Spark Series - The Role of the Artist in Society with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 19.03.2026 14m

  In this episode of our Creative Spark Series, Charlotte and Melinda discuss the vital role that artists play in helping to envision and shape the future with their creative work. In keeping with our recent episode on Creativity for the Common Good (Episode 112), we explore how artists can use their vision and problem-solving skills to help make the world a better place, from pioneering new innovations and fostering community to helping others see into the possible future (as with science fict...
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  Episode 113: Music Mindfulness & Healing with Dr. AZA Allsop 05.03.2026 35m

  Dr. AZA Allsop is an artist, neuroscientist, and psychiatrist who conducts research at the intersection of social cognition, music mindfulness, and psychedelics. AZA received his MD from Harvard Medical School, PhD in Neuroscience from MIT, and was an Emerson Scholar at Berklee College of Music. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Yale’s Department of Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Collective Healing at Howard University. He combines art, science, and community to redefine cu...
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  Episode 112: Creative Spark Series - Creativity for the Common Good with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 19.02.2026 14m

  Building upon our recent Creative Spark episodes on creativity in communication (Episode 110) and self-empowerment (Episode 108), Charlotte and Melinda contemplate how we can use our creativity for the common good, such as connecting in meaningful ways, supporting our local communities in challenging times, giving people the benefit of the doubt, and asking questions before jumping to conclusions. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syn...
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  Episode 111: Stories from the Podcast Studio with Record ATX Co-Founder Grant Davis 05.02.2026 35m

  Grant Davis is the co-owner of Record ATX, a creative audio and video production studio in Austin, Texas, where we record The Syncreate Podcast.He’s also the longtime co-host of The Beerists Podcast, an award winning craft beer review show and host of Hello Crawlers, a book club podcast dedicated to the Dungeon Crawler Carl book series. Our conversation traces Grant’s journey from baby podcaster to studio co-owner, sharing stories and insights from both the creative and production sides of th...
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  Episode 110: Creative Spark Series - Creativity in Communication with Melinda Rothouse & Charlotte Gullick 22.01.2026 14m

  ,In this episode of our Creative Spark series, we reflect on how we can bring our creativity into our communication and relationships with others, using the “Yes, and…” principle from improv, which opens up possibilities, inviting dialogue, collaboration, and a deepening of connection. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, also includes insights from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities. For our Creativity Pro...
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  Episode 109: Light and Shadow - The Art of Journaling with Keila Shaheen 08.01.2026 37m

  Keila Shaheen is a Brazilian–Puerto Rican American scholar, international bestselling author, and musician. She is the creator of the Zenfulnote app and author of The Shadow Work Journal, which has sold over a million copies and helped introduce shadow work to a new generation. Now pioneering the practice of Light Work, Keila’s mission is to guide others toward inner transformation and creative awakening. Keila integrates depth psychology and the arts to help people reconnect with their inner...